Various regulating mechanisms have been used in the past to raise and lower a window in a vehicle. One known mechanism employs rigid plates hinged in a form of scissor arm configuration to raise and lower the window as a cranking handle is turned. The disadvantage of such a mechanism is that it presents difficulty in assembly and hinders access to other items such as the door handle and the lock.
It is also known to use a Bowden cable to raise and lower a window. The inner cable of a Bowden cable passes around a drum which is turned by a cranking handle or an electric motor and is connected to an anchoring point on the window. As the drum is turned, the end of the cable raises or lowers the window.
Cable operated regulating mechanisms can be single lift or double lift. In the former case, the window is raised from a single point and steps must be taken to ensure that the window does not tilt in its guides while it is being moved as this might lead to jamming.
In double lift mechanisms, either two separately driven cables may be employed or a single driven cable may be wound in a figure eight around guides or pulleys and attached at two points to the window.